facts supporting greeks in euro crisis

8/13/2019 Facts Supporting Greeks in Euro Crisis

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MYTH #1: The Greeks are profligateThe unquestioned assumption in the international media is that the Greek debt crisis

was caused by e cessi!e state e penditure" an o!erburdened welfare state and aninflated public sectorT$%TH #1: The Greek welfare state is actually anemicHere are the facts: &ublic spending: according to the 'enter for (merican &rogress " public spending inGreece is only )) *+ of G,& This is lower than the -% a!erage" lower thanGermany.s )* *+ and considerably lower than /weden.s 00+ Ta collection: the real problem is not social e penditure on the poor but the lack ofta collection from the rich rom 2331 to 2334" Greece collected only an a!erage of56 )+ of G,& in ta es" compared to the -% )) )+ a!erage T$%TH #2: The Greeks actually work most of all -uropeansHere are the facts: Hours worked per week: (ccording to -urostat data of 2330 " the Greeks worked )5 1hours per week 7compared to 50 4 hours in so8called 9thrifty. Germany" with its much8touted 9&rotestant work ethic.

Hours worked per year: More recent ;-', data shows the Greeks to work an a!erage of 2"116 hoursper year < *63 hours more than the a!erage German" )*4 more than the a!erage =rit and 50* morethan the ;-', a!erage >n fact" out of all ;-', countries" only the ?oreans work more (mount of paid holidays: The paid lea!e entitlement in Greece is 25 days per year This is

actually below the -% a!erage" and significantly lower than the minimum of 2@ days in the %? and 537A days in Germany $etirement age: (gain" -urostat data from 2330 " shows the a!erage age of e it from the labour force inGreece to be *1 4 This was higher than in Germany" rance or >taly and higher than the -%24 a!erage>t is being raised e!en further now as a part of the -%8>M bailout conditionsMYTH #5: The Greeks are spoilt>n a truly terrible piece of Bournalism earlier this week" /ean ;.Grady 7economics editor of The>ndependent wrote that Cfor many in northern -urope" the rioting in (thens must remind them of atantrum by a spoilt child D He refers specifically to popular opposition to the cutting of the so8calledC15th and 1)th salaryD as a key indicator of this 9spoiltness.T$%TH #5: The Greeks suffer more than anyone elseHere are the facts: (ccording to -urostat " e!en before crisis" in 233@" one in fi!e Greeks 7among them almost half amillion children li!ed under the formal po!erty line of 033 euros per month (n independent sur!ey by ?apa $esearch and the Eondon /chool of -conomics found e!en worse data:a third of the Greek population now li!e in formal po!erty 7and mind you: this was in 2334 F it.sactually gotten a lot worse since as a result of these draconian austerity measures -!ery child in Greece is born with a )3"333 euro debt on their name Greece.s youth are now referred to in the country as Generation 433 : because that.s the ma imum

monthly wage that young Greeks will typically make F that is" if they are lucky enough to find a Bob:according to the inancial Times" o!er 50 percent of young Greeks is out of work right now The so8called 15th and 1) th salaries 7'hristmas" -aster and summer bonuses are

urope's top 10 and bottom 10Most hoursworked

Mostproductive

Greece LuxembourgHungary NorwayPoland IrelandEstonia BelgiumTurkey Net erlands"#e$ &e' (ran$eItaly Germany+lo,akia -enmark

Portugal +wedenI$eland 0ustriae ranks 14t bot in terms o ours worked and in term s odu$ti,ityurce: OECD
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/05/greek_myth_profligacy.htmlhttp://www.eurofound.europa.eu/ewco/studies/tn0702028s/tn0702028s_5.htmhttp://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=ANHRShttp://www.eurofound.europa.eu/ewco/studies/tn0702028s/tn0702028s_5.htmhttp://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/sean-ogrady-greek-rage-will-remind-many-of-a-spoilt-childs-tantrums-2300808.htmlhttp://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_OFFPUB/KS-SF-10-009/EN/KS-SF-10-009-EN.PDFhttp://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_OFFPUB/KS-SF-10-009/EN/KS-SF-10-009-EN.PDFhttp://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40033http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40033http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/19/greek-debt-crisis-papandreou-emergencyhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/19/greek-debt-crisis-papandreou-emergencyhttp://www.ellelamode.com/2010/02/generation-700-where-phds-are-lucky-to-wait-tables/http://www.ellelamode.com/2010/02/generation-700-where-phds-are-lucky-to-wait-tables/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/aafeac6c-353a-11e0-aa6c-00144feabdc0.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/aafeac6c-353a-11e0-aa6c-00144feabdc0.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/aafeac6c-353a-11e0-aa6c-00144feabdc0.htmlhttp://money.cnn.com/2010/03/04/news/international/greece_pay.fortune/index.htmhttp://money.cnn.com/2010/03/04/news/international/greece_pay.fortune/index.htmhttp://money.cnn.com/2010/03/04/news/international/greece_pay.fortune/index.htmhttp://money.cnn.com/2010/03/04/news/international/greece_pay.fortune/index.htmhttp://money.cnn.com/2010/03/04/news/international/greece_pay.fortune/index.htmhttp://money.cnn.com/2010/03/04/news/international/greece_pay.fortune/index.htmhttp://money.cnn.com/2010/03/04/news/international/greece_pay.fortune/index.htmhttp://money.cnn.com/2010/03/04/news/international/greece_pay.fortune/index.htmhttp://www.eurofound.europa.eu/ewco/studies/tn0702028s/tn0702028s_5.htmhttp://www.eurofound.europa.eu/ewco/studies/tn0702028s/tn0702028s_5.htmhttp://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=ANHRShttp://www.eurofound.europa.eu/ewco/studies/tn0702028s/tn0702028s_5.htmhttp://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/sean-ogrady-greek-rage-will-remind-many-of-a-spoilt-childs-tantrums-2300808.htmlhttp://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_OFFPUB/KS-SF-10-009/EN/KS-SF-10-009-EN.PDFhttp://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40033http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/19/greek-debt-crisis-papandreou-emergencyhttp://www.ellelamode.com/2010/02/generation-700-where-phds-are-lucky-to-wait-tables/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/aafeac6c-353a-11e0-aa6c-00144feabdc0.htmlhttp://money.cnn.com/2010/03/04/news/international/greece_pay.fortune/index.htmhttp://money.cnn.com/2010/03/04/news/international/greece_pay.fortune/index.htmhttp://money.cnn.com/2010/03/04/news/international/greece_pay.fortune/index.htmhttp://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/05/greek_myth_profligacy.html


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not additional salaries (s a Greek reader on this blog" (malia " pointed out: CGreeks do not get two e trasalaries a year their annual salary is simply di!ided by 1) and they get two installments at 'hristmas"one and half at -aster and one and a half sometime in the summer D The ,utch get a 15th month worth of salary and (ustria has a 1)th month /ince these countries arenot e periencing a similar budget crisis" this simply can.t be the cause of Greece.s debt

The bottomline is: it doesn.t matter in how many installments you recei!e your salary 7whether it.s in12" 15" 1) or 2"333 parts what matters is your annual salary (s long as you make less than *"333euros a year 7as is the case for 23 percent of Greeks you li!e in po!erty < period Ei!ing costs in Greece are the highest of all of -urope (s a result of this lethal combination of low wages and high li!ing costs" millions of Greeks are forcedto work two or three Bobs Bust to sur!i!e /ince last year.s bailout" the Greek economy contracted almost 0+" 03"333 to *0"333 business ha!e been closed" unemployment increased by )33"333" industrial acti!ity declined by 11+" the constructionsector contracted by 45+ &artly as a result" suicide rates are reported to ha!e nearly tripled (ll in all" this is a humanitarian tragedy of unprecedented proportions How could Mr ;.=radypossibly keep a straight face arguing that the people e periencing all of the abo!e" aresomehow spoilt children

T$%TH #): < it.s an indirect subsidy for -urope.s insol!ent banksHere are the facts: irst of all" the bailout is not a handout: the Greek people don.t actually benefit from the -%8>M bailout -!en if the bailout money really did go to the Greeks" this wouldn.t necessarily be beneficial forthe Greek people at all (fter all" the bailout is a loan for which the -% and >M charge an e orbitant @percent interest rate " meaning northern -uropean ta payers and the >M should make a handsome

profit from their so8called 9rescue aid." while the Greeks will only be further indebted by it The bailout ser!es not Greece but -urope.s insol!ent banks: as former >M 'hief -conomist ?enneth$ogoff pointed out last year already" Ca lot of -uropean banks are insol!ent D The real problem of the-uropean crisis isn.t the fiscal crisis in the periphery" it.s the financial crisis in the banking sector of thecore &ri!ate bank e posure to Greek so!ereign debt: =I& &aribas: 0bn F 4 percent of equity /ociJtJGJnJrale: 2"0bn F * percent of equity &ostbank: 1"2bn F 21 percent of equity ?ommerKbank: 2"6bn F24 percent of total equity That.s Bust a handful More data here 'entral =ank e posure to Greek debt: the -uropean 'entral =ank has 163bn of e posure to Greek debt -'= close to insol!ency: according to a recent report by ;pen -urope" asset losses as small as ) 20+could tip the -'= into insol!ency Greek default alone would chip 2 50+ to 5 )4+ off of the -'=.scapital base (dd in a &ortuguese or >rish default and you ha!e the -uropean 'entral =ank F theflagship of -uropean capitalism F literally going bankrupt=ut no one really seems to care about -urope.s ailing banks and the -'= >ndeed" hardly anyone istalking about it >nstead" we prefer to talk about the handful of Greek workers who retire at 03" the9spoilt children. who refuse to accept the -%.s generous aid packages=y narrowly channeling our ire onto the suffering people of Greece" we ha!e completely lost sight of theinfinitely larger structural problems we face in the -uropean %nion ;ur pri!ate banks are insol!ent;ur central bank is on the !erge of bankruptcy This is the real crisis

Yet apparently" in all this misery and chaos" bashing the Greeks seems like an infinitely more enBoyablepastime for -urope.s populist politicians and the factually illiterate international media >t.s time we putthese lies to an end and start speaking truth
http://roarmag.org/2011/06/greek-debt-crisis-international-media/http://roarmag.org/2011/06/greek-debt-crisis-international-media/http://roarmag.org/2011/06/greek-debt-crisis-international-media/http://community.expatica.com/forums/topic/14392http://community.expatica.com/forums/topic/14392http://www.virtualvienna.net/career/http://archive.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_ell_1_17/05/2008_96691http://archive.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_ell_1_17/05/2008_96691http://roarmag.org/2011/06/greek-debt-crisis-international-media/http://roarmag.org/2011/06/greek-debt-crisis-international-media/http://roarmag.org/2011/06/greek-debt-crisis-international-media/http://roarmag.org/2010/08/greek-tragedy/http://vorige.nrc.nl/international/opinion/article2522987.ece/The_EU_is_subsidising_Greecehttp://vorige.nrc.nl/international/opinion/article2522987.ece/The_EU_is_subsidising_Greecehttp://vorige.nrc.nl/international/opinion/article2522987.ece/The_EU_is_subsidising_Greecehttp://www.dailymarkets.com/stock/2010/07/07/kenneth-rogoff-%E2%80%9Ca-lot-of-insolvent-european-banks%E2%80%9D/http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2011/jun/17/greece-debt-crisis-bank-exposedhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2011/jun/17/greece-debt-crisis-bank-exposedhttp://www.openeurope.org.uk/research/ecbandtheeuro.pdfhttp://www.openeurope.org.uk/research/ecbandtheeuro.pdfhttp://www.openeurope.org.uk/research/ecbandtheeuro.pdfhttp://roarmag.org/2011/06/greek-debt-crisis-international-media/http://community.expatica.com/forums/topic/14392http://www.virtualvienna.net/career/http://archive.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_ell_1_17/05/2008_96691http://roarmag.org/2011/06/greek-debt-crisis-international-media/http://roarmag.org/2010/08/greek-tragedy/http://vorige.nrc.nl/international/opinion/article2522987.ece/The_EU_is_subsidising_Greecehttp://vorige.nrc.nl/international/opinion/article2522987.ece/The_EU_is_subsidising_Greecehttp://www.dailymarkets.com/stock/2010/07/07/kenneth-rogoff-%E2%80%9Ca-lot-of-insolvent-european-banks%E2%80%9D/http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2011/jun/17/greece-debt-crisis-bank-exposedhttp://www.openeurope.org.uk/research/ecbandtheeuro.pdf


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Thanks again to Ia!eena ?ottoor and ==' Lorld for allowing me a brief minute to highlight theseconcerns > Bust wish there had been a little more time to del!e into the real issues in depth

f you account for these factors by stripping away part8time and self8employed people and look only atfull8time salaried workers" the Greeks are still working almost 13+ more hours than the Germans

T is is be$ause t e ermans take more oliday si$kness lea,e and maternity lea,e 6 ona,erage our weeks more t an t e reeks7

+o ar we a,e been o$using on t ose in em'loyment but only !/8 o ree$e9s workingage 'o'ulation a,e :obs $om'ared to )28 in ermany7

;n this basis" the a!erage German worker is more producti!e than the a!erage Greek Germany ranks asthe eighth most producti!e country by worker out of the ;-', countries 8 or the se!enth out of the-uropean countries 8 while Greece comes in at 2)th

;r ;arianna says t is is mainly be$ause ermany as a ,ery e i$ient manu a$turingse$tor7

0nd w ile a smaller 'ro'ortion o ermans work in agri$ulture ere too t ey are moree i$ient 6 'artly be$ause


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the mentality of the >M 7and its neoliberal acolytes e!erywhere is still stuckin the era of the &inochet regime in 'hile" when guns and torture were widelyused as means to enforce fiscal discipline and a Nfree8marketN utopia on anotherwise unaccommodating nation

=ut Greece s financial partners had no interest in the social and economic

consequences of the fiscal consolidation hoa they had perpetrated (ll thatmattered was attaining fiscal balance 8 that is" ensuring that the banks wouldkeep on recei!ing payments for the Greek so!ereign bonds they held

(ccordingly" Greek bond yields kept soaring to e!er greater heights" freeKingGreece out of the pri!ate financial markets for an indefinite period of time" andthe bond !igilantes went on a safari for more fiscally wild N&>>G/

N( Iation for /aleN is how many Greek citiKens ha!e come to regard the termsand conditions included in the second bailout agreement ;n sale" among otherhighly !aluable state assets" are the ports of &iraeus and Thessaloniki theGreek telecom ;T- the national lottery prime real estate and the postal bank (ll at fire sale prices

Greece s financial backers e pected the pri!atiKation proBects to raise 03 billioneuros by 2310" re!ealing how wildly out of touch they were with Greekeconomic reality 8 although a more likely scenario is that the urgent push forpri!atiKation was simply a Machia!ellian plan to transfer public wealth intopri!ate hands (fter all" it is beyond contention that the Greek debt crisis has been utiliKed as an opportunity to dismantle the social state" to sell offprofitable public enterprises and state assets at bargain prices" to depri!e laborof its most basic rights" and to substantially reduce wages and pensions 8 all

with the support of a significant segment of the Greek industrialOfinancial classand with the assistance of the domestic political elite" which" since the onset ofthe crisis" has relied hea!ily on dictatorial action to meet the demands of thecountry s foreign creditors and to institutionaliKe a much8sought8after neoliberal economic order

>n May 2312" a debt restructuring deal was reached with most of the pri!atein!estors" who" after Germany and the -% used some strong arm tactics"agreed to swap their go!ernment bonds for new securities worth less than halfthe pre!ious securities Greek go!ernment bonds held by the -'= weree cluded from the Nhaircut N (s it turned out" this was yet one more mo!e onthe part of -% leaders to buy time" since the restructuring deal still left Greece sdebt at unsustainable le!els 7at around 152 percent " while placing new Greek bond issues under =ritish law 7hence the Greek &arliament cannot passlegislation refusing payment

the country s con!ersion into a peripheral colony of the -%

;nly one other ;-', country s workers put in fewer hours" and that s the

T e erman arti$le is eadlined =Euro'ean Politi$ians in -enial as ree$e nra,els> w ile t e reek
http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/20167-the-resurgence-of-authoritarianism-in-economically-beleaguered-greece-and-the-shaping-of-a-neoliberal-proto-fascist-statehttp://www.truth-out.org/news/item/20167-the-resurgence-of-authoritarianism-in-economically-beleaguered-greece-and-the-shaping-of-a-neoliberal-proto-fascist-state


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one 'lum's or =? y it@s too late to sa,e ree$e@s so,ereignty>7 T ey@re bot saying t e same t ingAermany as been treating ree$e@s insol,en$y as t oug it were some kind o li uidity $risis w i$

$an be sol,ed by lending ree$e more money7 But o $ourse t at@s t e worst 'ossible t ing you $an dowit an insol,ent debtor

T ey = ad better be $are ul > s e said =T ere is $learly a statement o solidarityCweare $losing ranks7 ? et er we are big member states or small member states we areall in t is toget er and we are not going to let any o us down7> + e e,en ollowedt is wit an im'li$it regulatory t reat7 =? at we are going to take away rom t is$risis > s e added =is $ertainly a se$ond look at t e ,alidity t e solidity o D"reditde ault swa's on so,ereign debt7

It@s a little ard to imagine Tim eit ner or any 0meri$an 'oliti$ian o sound mindt reatening edge unds wit regulation i t ey didn@t sto' s orting t e sto$k market7F0$tually e@d 'robably :ust ban t e 'ra$ti$e7G But t e swi t dro' in t e Euro last weekstru$k a ner,e7 It@s :ust too reminis$ent o t e s'e$ulati,e atta$ks Fby eorge +oroset7al7G t at surrounded t e establis ment o t e Euro'ean Ex$ ange &ate;e$ anism t e system t at 're$eded t e Euro in t e early nineties7 Last week t es ort 'osition against t e Euro'ean $ommon $urren$y it a re$ord ig 7 +till to $all ita =s'e$ulati,e atta$k> is to take a 'oint o ,iew on t e a''ro'riate le,el o t e Euro7

0lso it assumes a $on$erted e ort7

nlike in t e 0nglo' one world w ere markets are s'oken o like a$ts o nature in

Euro'e it raises ew eyebrows w en 'oliti$ians or $ommentators as$ribe moti,es tot e inan$ial market7 Here@s ow ean6;ar$ +yl,estre $ e e$onomi$s editor or(ren$ T $ annel T(1 re$ently des$ribed t e s'e$ulati,e atta$ks on ree$eA

T e ar$ ite$ts are in,estment unds in 'arti$ular edge unds wit$onsiderable li uidity w ose :ob it is to 'ut t at money to work ormaximum 'ro itJ t ese in,estment unds $ oose an in,estment targett ey eel is ragile and swoo' down on it ,ery ui$klyJ on t ere$ommendation o t eir inan$ial analysts w o returned rom -a,osbrimming wit $on iden$e many edge unds began to sell reek debt

ea,ily and t en t e Euro o'ing to redeem t e 'a'er in two or t reeweeks w en it was wort less7 Enter t e $ons'ira$y t eoryA on ?ednesday ean Kuatremer w o re'orts on t eBrussels beat or t e (ren$ daily Liberation broke t e story t at oldman +a$ sand t e edge und run by o n Paulson are be ind t e atta$ks against ree$e andt e euroJ

T e most s o$king as'e$t o t is a air is wit out doubt t e role 'layed byoldman +a$ s w i$ w ile at t e same time ad,ising t e reek

go,ernment as also taken se$ret 'ositions against ree$e and t e euro7

0nd t is $oming in t e same week t at it was re'orted in -er +'iegel and t e Nework Times t at ba$k in 2//2 oldman el'ed t e reek go,ernment $on$eal someo its debts rom t e Euro'ean nion t roug a series o $om'lex deri,ati,e


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w i$ would make sure it was rigidly ollowed7 T e study was 'ro'ositioned by ;os e E#ekiel in1.4) Fno need to ex'lain t e origin o t e nameG7 Head o t e ?B at t e time was Eugene Isaa$;eyerC ewis as well o $ourse7 T e study o$used solely on t e $oming 25 years7 Itsdire$tions were sim'le alt oug ex'ressed in an ambiguous language7 Essentially ree$e wasdis$ouraged rom de,elo'ing any serious orm o ea,y metallurgi$al and $ emi$al industry7 T e

study also 'ro'osed t e $reation o a 'ermanent ad,isory $ommittee wit 'owers ar sur'assingt e ad,isory le,el and able e,en to 'arole t e 'aying o o international loans o t e state et$7D22 In ot er words any 'lans or t e strategi$ de,elo'ment and industriali#ation o ree$e were$an$elled t e reek e$onomy was to be ormed in a way w i$ would make t e reek statetotally de'endent on international markets7 T e answer to t e uestion most reeks always askas to w y ree$e ne,er $reated an automobile industry or a military industry $a'able to buildanyt ing abo,e bombs and in antry wea'ons lies in t at study7 Ne,ert eless e,en under t osestri$t rules ree$e managed to de,elo' some ea,y industry w i$ remained largely inta$t untilt e restoration o demo$ra$y in 1.)47

0s a orementioned t e study o ;os e E#ekiel ad a sur'risingly s ort F25 yearsG s$o'e7 T at'u##led t e reek e$onomists w o studied it t oroug ly at t e time7 In retros'e$t t e 25 yearss$o'e does make sense7 Be$ause roug ly a ter 25 years t e study was $ondu$ted t e reekstate under t e leaders i' o onstantinos F"onstantineG aramanlis Ft e elderG embarked on a$ourse o nationali#ation and e$onomi$ strangulation o large industrial se$tors w i$ wase,entually $om'leted w en t e so$ialist 0ndreas F0ndrewG Pa'andreou $ame to 'ower in 1.*17? en t e de6industriali#ation 'ro$ess was inis ed t e $ountry o$used on t e tertiary se$torand es'e$ially tourism7 ?as t at a $oin$iden$e It is really di i$ult to tell7 Howe,er t e readers ould be aware o an im'ortant axiom w en studying istory7 ? at is usually re erred as =t e

system> is always se,eral ste's a ead o t ose o''osing it and as long term 'lans7 I t ings donot make sense at t e time t ey are im'lemented it is be$ause t e outsiders are in$a'able oseeing t e ull 'i$ture7 ?it t e 'assage o time t e 'ie$es are 'la$ed in t e rig t order and t e'u##le is $om'leted7

0s a matter o a$t sin$e 1.5/ it as been known t at uantities o uranium ore exist in areas oNort ern ree$e7 T e dis$o,ery attra$ted t e attention o 0meri$an s$ienti i$ grou's w i$,isited t e $ountry in order to $ondu$t extended resear$ es on t e sub:e$t7 T e sear$ or t e

reek uranium $ontinued until 1..5 but t e indings in most $ases were ke't rom t e 'ubli$7 In1..! a leaked do$ument rom t e Institute o eology and ;ineral Ex'loration o ree$ea''eared in a news'a'er w i$ re,ealed t at ree$e as one o t e largest de'osits o uraniumore in t e world lo$ated in a,ala Nort ern ree$e7D23 +imilar studies $ontinued to leak anda''eared in reek news'a'ers 'ro,ing t e abundan$e o uranium ore de'osits in se,eral areaso Nort ern ree$e su$ as +erres ilkis and t e " al$idi$e 'eninsula7D24 nsur'risingly t ede'osits a,e until now remained unex'loited7 T ose ,oi$es t at argued in a,or o t e $reationo an industry o mining and enri$ ing uranium were ignored7 +ixty years a ter t e dis$o,ery ot e irst uranium de'osit in ree$e no go,ernment as dared to do anyt ing ot er t an dismisst e 'leas o rustrated s$ientists w o $all or t e immediate ex$a,ation o t e ore7 O $ourse it e reek +tate de$ided to a$t and take ad,antage o t at mineral treasure it would be able to

'ay o its debt a$ uire t e ne$essary amount o money to in,est on t e building o $i,iliannu$lear rea$tors t us be$oming inde'endent in terms o energy and e,en ex'ort ele$tri$ity int e Balkans and elsew ere7 ;oreo,er gi,en t e un a,orable $on,entional military balan$e


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between ree$e and Turkey it $ould 'romote t e argument t at it as t e rig t to de,elo'nu$lear wea'ons as a $redible deterren$e7 T e 'ri$e o enri$ ed uranium is on a $ontinuous riseon t e market and one gram o it is estimated to 2/ ///7D25 Only by taking ad,antage o itsuranium ore ree$e $ould trans orm rom t e 'oor man o Euro'e into a regional energysu'er'ower and able to :oin t e small =nu$lear wea'ons $lub7> "onse uently its im'ortan$e in

t e international $ essboard would be multi'lied its borders would be se$ured and reekswould 'ros'er7 One $ould argue t at based on t e eastern ;editerranean balan$e o 'ower anu$lear ree$e would or$e ot er $ountries to go nu$lear as well wit Turkey irst7 0 nu$learTurkey in t e underbelly o &ussia would not be wel$omed by a +o,iet or 'ost6+o,iet remlin7+u$ an ex'lanation or renoun$ing t e reek state@s rig t to ex'loit its uranium ore $ould bedes$ribed as reasonable7 Howe,er ree$e is ri$ not only in uranium but in ot er $on,entional

uels as well su$ as oil and natural gas and it as done ,ery little to use t em in its a,or7

!T ere is an abundan$e o arti$les books and studies regarding t e oil de'osits in ree$e7 It will

not be an exaggeration to re'eat t e words o Nikolaos Qardinidis w o in 1.)* and as a ;inistero Publi$ ?orks said t at Greece is an island that swims in oil 7 ntil now large uantities o oil

a,e been dis$o,ered in T ermaikos ul in nort 6eastern 0egean +ea ?estern ree$e andsout ward o "rete7D2!T R old managed to extra$t 1 /// /// tons o ore but $arelessly destroyed t e surroundingarea wit its ig ly toxi$ wastes o w i$ most were dire$ted into t e sea turning t e blue waterso t e Bay o Ierissos into red7D31 T e in abitants o t e area re,olted and demanded t eimmediate alting o all mining o'erations7 T at was o $ourse w at all t e e$ologi$alorgani#ations needed to start $ondemning any orm o mining as destru$ti,e to t e en,ironmentand a#ardous or t e 'eo'le7 Nowadays w en someone $alls or t e extra$tion o t e reekgold e a$es a uni ied o''osition rom a ,ariety o ad o$ grou's $onser,ation organi#ationsand Le t6wing anati$s7 T ese 'eo'le gal,ani#e and mobili#e t e $ommunities next to areas o'ossible mining o'erations wit 'ro' e$ies o an im'eding doom or t em and t e en,ironment7T us t e gold remains buried t e reek go,ernment now as an ex$use not to do anyt ing toex'loit it and T R old ad su i$ient time to make lots o money by extra$ting gold wit outs'ending anyt ing in se$uring its a#ardous wastes7 To $om'lete t e 'u##le t e reader s ouldbe aware t at T R old belongs to ySrgy +oros http://www.counter-currents.com/2013/10/understanding-the-greek-crisis-part-2/
http://www.counter-currents.com/2013/10/understanding-the-greek-crisis-part-2/http://www.counter-currents.com/2013/10/understanding-the-greek-crisis-part-2/http://www.counter-currents.com/2013/10/understanding-the-greek-crisis-part-2/

facts supporting greeks in euro crisis

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